Measuring teamwork mental models to support training needs assessment, development, and evaluation: two empirical studies

The present paper reports data from two studies that utilized a card sortin g approach to measuring mental model similarity in naturalistic training en vironments. Results from the first study indicated that higher ranking navy personnel held mental models of teamwork that were more similar to an empi rically derived model of expert team performance than lower ranking personn el. Furthermore, comparisons of mental model similarity within groups of hi gh and low ranking trainees and within groups of high and low experience tr ainees indicated greater similarity between those of higher rank and betwee n those with greater experience. The second study tested the effects of a c omputer-based training (CBT) strategy that was designed to develop teamwork mental models that were more similar to the 'expert model' described in St udy 1. Using the same card sorting approach, positive training effects were demonstrated on similarity to the expert model, similarity to other traine es, and consistency. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.